Pakistani PM vows retaliation for India's 'grave mistake'
ALBAWABA- Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared on Wednesday that India had committed a "grave mistake" by launching deadly cross-border strikes — a move for which, he warned, India would now "pay the price."
Speaking after a night of escalating tensions, Sharif claimed that Pakistan's forces shot down five Indian fighter jets, including three French-made Rafales, in a major air clash.
'We will avenge every drop of blood spilled. Pakistan knows how to deliver a befitting reply. The entire nation salutes its brave armed forces,' he said in a fiery address.
On his part, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari also weighed in, warning that 'the Indian government's actions threaten peace and stability in South Asia and could have serious consequences for the region.'
The statement came as the Pakistani military confirmed the death toll from Indian airstrikes and shelling along the contested border had risen to 31.
According to military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Indian forces carried out strikes on nine positions in Pakistan-administered Kashmir overnight, resulting in dozens of casualties.
Chaudhry emphasized that Pakistan had both the right and the freedom to respond to the Indian aggression in a time and manner of its choosing. 'The people of Pakistan have demanded retribution, and we promise to fulfill it,' he said during a televised briefing.
Pakistan's Defense Minister, quoted by CNN, reaffirmed the claim that five Indian jets were downed in the clash.
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